City OKs funding pact for Rails to Trails

The Amarillo City Commission voted Tuesday to approve an advance funding agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation for the Rails to Trails project.

The $3.3 million project seeks to convert a 3.9-mile stretch of abandoned railroad right of way from Coulter Street to Seventh Avenue, running adjacent to Plains Boulevard, into a pedestrian and bike trail.

TxDOT requires the $50,291 advance for the city to receive $2.6 million in state funds for the project.

The city will pay the remaining $613,000.

The proposal would construct 10-foot-wide concrete pathways, with a 2-foot shoulder on one side and the future possibility of a 4-foot soft trail.

Construction on the project is still about 1 years from starting, City Manager John Ward said. A water line first must be removed before construction begins. The project could take as long as a year to complete, Ward said.

In other business, the commission approved the first reading of an ordinance that waives area limitations and fire resistant exit corridor requirements in schools built with fire sprinkler and fire alarm systems.

The commission also approved the first reading of an ordinance allowing PVC pipe to be used for drain, waste and vent piping in buildings over three stories in height.